Vodafone Ireland targets more than 70% 5G Standalone coverage by 2028

Vodafone Ireland plans to provide 5G Standalone (5G SA) to more than 70% of the population by 2028 and will start trials with businesses and public sector organisations before the end of this year.

Trials of 5G SA will start in Limerick and Shannon and expand to Cork, Dublin, Galway and Waterford in 2027. Vodafone announced the plans at its Future Frontiers conference in Dublin, attended by more than 400 business leaders, the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment Peter Burke, industry experts and other speakers.

5G SA supports capabilities including lower latency and network slicing, which allows Vodafone to reserve network capacity for critical applications, businesses or groups of users, among other services.

Vodafone outlined the plans alongside research which found that digitalised small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) had, on average, 26% higher revenues than non-digitalised businesses. The findings highlight the substantial economic potential of advanced connectivity.

Separate research from Sage estimates that bringing Europe’s least-digitised SMEs up to the European average could boost European Union GDP by €628 billion.

At the event, Vodafone Ireland also detailed its work with Irish construction and engineering company Sisk to bring connectivity to building sites more quickly. Vodafone developed a secure, portable network solution for Sisk that provides construction projects with connectivity from day one, cutting the time needed to establish reliable IT services on sites by up to five weeks.

The system combines the best available mix of fibre, broadband, satellite, 4G and 5G connections, allowing project teams to access digital tools and systems earlier.

Vodafone Ireland Chief Executive Sabrina Casalta said: “Ireland has a real opportunity to turn the next wave of technology into greater productivity, innovation and competitiveness.”

She added technologies including AI and 5G SA require secure, resilient digital infrastructure, alongside greater certainty for long-term investment and cooperation between businesses, regulators and government.

This year marks Vodafone’s 25th year in Ireland. Over that period, the company has invested €20 billion in today’s terms in its networks, technology and people. That investment is helping prepare Vodafone’s network for growing demand and the increasing adoption of technologies including AI, 5G SA, satellite connectivity and IoT.